Connecting With Your Audience

By Mike Kovalcik (Prose Media)

One of the most important functions of social media for marketing is to connect with an audience in a way more personal than can be done with traditional methods. Here we will look at some examples of companies that have varying degrees of success in using social media to develop more personal relationships with their clients.

Taco Bell

Taco Bell might not be the first company to use their social media to actively interact with their audience, but they may have perfected the art. Rather than choosing the traditional, conservative approach to communication, their social media campaign has adopted a tone of quirky, offbeat humor that appeals to their main customer base, namely, Millenials. From quoting lines from Mean Girls to sending fans cards and presents on Valentine’s Day, the Taco Bell Twitter account clearly understands their audience.

NBC

Television shows are notorious for their passionate fan bases, which can often be described using terms like “vitriolic” and “unpleasable.” For this reason, the social media team at NBC deserves special mention. They exceed the standard marketing strategies to engage their audiences. In particular, the team for Hannibal, which just entered its second season this year, goes above and beyond for the fans. They schedule panels and interviews with cast members and interact with their fans on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. They earn an immense amount of goodwill by passing on the multitude of fan-created Internet memes to the cast, who then react on social media.

A United Kingdom Game Company

On the other end of the spectrum is a company that specializes in toy soldiers for their own tabletop game, and is by far the largest company in their niche industry. Market dominance does not guarantee a strong marketing strategy, however. This company has eschewed modern marketing techniques, instead relying on the same print magazines and word-of-mouth techniques that served them well in the past. In light of recent financial performance, including a disappointing interim financial report, embracing the sort of techniques that have proved so successful for Taco Bell and NBC could help this company push forward in a more positive direction. As their customer base is generally very computer-savvy, a social media campaign from a dedicated, creative team could bring them a renewed level of success.

If you want to give a social media a campaign a shot but are feeling lost, we can help you.